MSNBC's Morning Joe has spent the better part of the last few weeks lamenting the government shutdown, framing the the budget impass as a 35-day exercise in futility based around a concocted crises. On Monday, the morning show cheered the end of the "petty" stalemate while also applauding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for having "schooled" the President by still refusing to schedule the State of the Union address.
Co-host Mika Brzezinski was joined by PBS White House Correspondent Yamiche Alcindor to discuss the shutdown and its aftermath. The two proceeded to talk about The State of the Union Address and the battle between Trump and Pelosi over the timing of the speech, originally scheduled for January 29.
Alcindor commented that the shutdown showed Americans the state of the country. It "is chaotic, it's petty, it's political warfare in so many ways," she exclaimed. She then predicted that Trump's speech, will, "be him basically talking about his policies and I think more of a political speech." As if State of the Union Addresses were ever something other than political speeches where the President talks about his policies.
After lamenting pettiness in current political discourse, they argued that since Pelosi controls the House of Representatives, and scheduling the State of the Union, Trump is the Democratic leader's puppet. Brzezinski giddily laughed as Alcindor described the latest developments.
BRZEZINSKI: So Speaker Nancy Pelosi has to reissue her invitation for him to come back and she has not done so.
ALCINDOR: She has not, she has not reissued her invitation, she has not told him when. There was a time at the White House right after this, maybe this’ll be next week and Speaker Pelosi quickly batted that down and said, “The State of the Union will not be next week.”
BRZEZINSKI: Wow!
ALCINDOR: So, I think we’re going to have to figure out when Nancy Pelosi is finished tweeting about Roger Stone and all the issues that are going on with the President’s associates, she’ll get around and saying “Okay here’s when you can come to my house.”
BRZEZINSKI: Talk about being schooled.
It did not take Morning Joe long to go from decrying Trump's shutdown an example of petty politics to refering to the people's house as "my house" and about the Speaker schooling the President.
Here is a transcript of the January 28 exchange:
MSNBC's Morning Joe
January 28, 2019
7:05 a.m. EasternMIKA BRZEZINSKI: I mean, lost in all this is the loss was The State of the Union, which, were does that stand Yamiche? Also, we're looking at a President who is willing to send troops to the border to prepare for caravans that never came and was even talking about them last week like “Good thing we got those two caravans, we pushed them back and there’s another one coming.” I mean, these things, actually he says them and he actually put troops at the border. Is it possible he will shut down the government again or declare a national emergency against these caravans, so called?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: One of the most interesting things to come out of the shutdown is that we kind of all what the state of our union is, right? Everybody knows that the state of the union…
BRZEZINSKI: Shutdown
ALCINDOR: …is chaotic, it's petty, it's political warfare so in some ways, whenever President Trump gets up there- and maybe its February 5, which I’ve seen that date float around a bit, but Nancy Pelosi of course as we know has the final say of when he gets up there, as the President had to learn the hard way. Whenever he gets up, it’s going to be him basically talking about his policies and I think more of a political speech now because so many people have seen 35 days the government come to a screeching halt, and our airports not work, and our restaurants have to extend restaurant weeks because people aren’t spending money and of course let's not even talk about the 800,000 workers who suffered more than a month without a paycheck. So, when it comes to a shutdown, I don't think that President Trump will do this again, only because he lost so badly this time the idea that Democrats got him to go on camera to say “I will own this shut down.”
BRZEZINSKI: It's just incredible
ALCINDOR: I think hamstringed him. The idea he's not saying Mexico will pay for the wall anymore that tells me he understands Mexico will not pay the wall.
BRZEZINSKI: So Speaker Nancy Pelosi has to reissue her invitation for him to come back and she has not done so.
ALCINDOR: She has not, she has not reissued her invitation, she has not told him when. There was a time at the White House right after this, maybe this’ll be next week and Speaker Pelosi quickly batted that down and said, “The State of the Union will not be next week.”
BRZEZINSKI: Wow!
ALCINDOR: So, I think we’re going to have to figure out when Nancy Pelosi is finished tweeting about Roger Stone and all the issues that are going on with the President’s associates, she’ll get around and saying “Okay here’s when you can come to my house.”
BRZEZINSKI: Talk about being schooled.
